Ladder-joint.



R. R. FOUST. LADDER JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11. I916.

1,22%961 9 Patented May 29, 1917.

INVENTOR WITNESSES H ATTORNEY RAYMOND R. FOUST, 0F CLARKSIBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

LADDER-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917'.

Application filed September 11, 1916. Serial No. 119,534.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, RAYMOND R. Foos'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Clarksburg, in the countyof Harrison'a-nd State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ladder-Joints, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a ladder joint and more particularly to a joint for the ends of ladder rungs.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a oint for the ends of the rungs of a ladder, particularly for ladders of the class generally employed for fire escapes although the use of the joint may be'extended to include all forms of ladders.

Another object is the provision of a structure carried by the ends of each ladder rung whereby the links of a flexible chain may be secured to the rung in a manner that will prevent the accidental displacement ofthe rungs whenthe ladder is in use.

A further objectof this invention is the provision of a ladder joint which consists of comparatively few parts and is simple in construction, but durable and'well' 'adapted to withstand the rough usage to which devices of this character are ordinarily subjected.

For a full description of the invention and the advantages and merits thereof, "reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, where in is illustrated the preferred form of my invention, in which;

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through a window sill showingvone end of a ladder constructed in accordance with my invention secured to the sill.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of one end of a ladder rung showing the connecting links attached to the end thereof.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation.

Fig. 4: is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the retaining disks.

The ladder rung 1, as clearly shown by Fig. 4 of the drawing has one end reduced to provide a trunnion 2 and the shoulder 3 is slightly beveled for a purpose presently described. A pair of retaining disks, one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 5 is mounted upon the trunnion 2 and the disks are desig- "shoulder 3 on the rung 1.

nated asthe inner disk 4 and the outer disk 5. A central opening is provided in each of the disks 4 and 5 for receiving the trunnion larly beveled, as clearly shown by Fig. 4

whereby the end of the trunnion 2 may be beaded to provide a rivet head 7. The beveled edges of the disks are identical in form thereby permitting the disks to be used interchangeably.

An interior annular groove 6 is formedineach of the retaining disks 4 and 5 and receives the loops 8 of the connecting links 9 which are adapted to be secured to the links of the chain. It will be understood, of course, that no special or particular design of link Inustbe employed, since the links of anordinary chain may have their loops engaged in the grooves 6 by simply removing one of the intermediate links. For accommodating-the loop in each link whereby the link may extend beyond the disk I provide the grooves 10 which extend at a tangent from the annular groove 6 and through the wall of the disk as clearly shown-by Fig. 5 of the drawing. The grooves 10 in one of the disks open at the opposite side from each ofthe grooves in the adjacent disk so that the links may extend from opposite sides. By this construction, any number of ladder rungs may be accommodated in the chain. As shown by Fig. 1 of the drawing, the ends of the chain A are provided with hooks 11 which are caught over the sill B of the window so that the chain may be suspended from the window on the exterior of the building.

From the foregoing it will be observed that a very simple and durable ladder joint has been provided, the details of which embody the preferred form. I desire it to be understood however, that slight changes in the minor details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described including a ladder rung having one end reduced in diameter to provide a trunnion, a pair of disks having their proximate faces provided with grooves, communicating grooves extending from the marginal edge of each disk to the annular groove thereof, and a pair of links extended around the said trunnion and through the said grooves, the said links being disposed in opposite directions and through the short communicatmg grooves.

2. A device of the character described including a ladder rung, a pair of links, and a pair of disks rotarily mounted upon the rung and provided with interior annular grooves for receiving the loops of said links.

3. A device of the character described including a ladder rung, having its ends reduced in diameter to provide trunnions, a pair of disks mounted upon the trunnions, each of said disks being provided with a central opening the edge of which is beveled, the shoulder between the said trunnion and the rung being also beveled to fit the said beveled edge on one ofthe disks, and a rivet head formed on the end of the trunnion and adapted to fit the said'beveled edge of the adjacent disk.

4. A device of the character described comprising a ladder rung, having its ends reduced to provide trunnions, a pair of disks mounted upon each of said trunnions, a pair of links having their loops engaged with one of the trunnions and extending in opposite directions from each other, each of said disks being provided with interior annular grooves for receiving the loops of said links and grooves formed in each disk whereby each link may extend outwardly from the said groove.

5. A device of the character described comprising a ladder rung, having its ends reduced to provide trunnions, a pair of disks mounted upon each of said trunnions, a pair of links having their loops engaged with one of the trunnions and extending in opposite directions from each other, each of said disks being provided with interior annular grooves for receiving the loops of said links and grooves formed in each disk whereby each link may extend outwardly from the said groove, and fastening means formed on the end of the trunnion for retaining the said disks in close relation to each other.

6. A device of the character described comprising a ladder rung, of cylindrical formation having its ends reduced in diameter to provide trunnions, the shoulder formed by providing said trunnions being beveled, a pair of disks mounted upon each trunnion and having complementary annular grooves and also provided with central openings for the insertion of said trunnion, the edge of the opening in each disk being beveled whereby the innermost disk will. fit the said beveled shoulder, the end of the said trunnion being riveted to fit the beveled edge of the adjacent disk.

7 A device of the character described including a ladder rung, a pair of links, the said ladder rung having its ends reduced to provide trunnions, and a pair of disks rotatably mounted upon each trunnion and adapted to receive the loops of said links.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RAYMOND R. FOUST.

Witnesses: A. O. FLOWERS,

T. G. LE MASTERS.

Copies of this patentmay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

